Watson tables the Stop the Hub petition at State Parliament

THE stop the hub petition signed by 10,000 people was formally tabled in State Parliament today.

MP Anna Watson with members of the Stop the Hub Community Group on the steps of parliament today. Picture supplied

THE stop the hub petition signed by 10,000 people was formally tabled in State Parliament today.

Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson handed down the Stop the Hub petition to the State Parliament’s Legislative Assembly this afternoon, which will go to debate at a later date.

Last week, Ms Watson told the group she would happily present the petition to the State Parliament after the group had formally approached her.

“I will happily accept the petition from the Stop The Hub group and table it, so that the matters raised in the petition will be debated in the Legislative Assembly on a date to be fixed,'' she said.

“The Minister for Local Government will be notified of the petition and have 35 days in which to respond to its concerns.

Ms Watson proposed the group meet with Shellharbour councillors and council staff to discuss concerns on the hub project before the petition was debated.

“It is of course up to the council and the Stop The Hub delegation to agree to meet and, if not, to explain the reasons publicly,'' she said.

“Regardless of whether the meeting between the two parties takes place or not, the petition will still be presented to the State Parliament.

“I have always been upfront and consistently honest in my dealings with the group representatives in the two meetings I have now had with them and in all of my public comments.

MP Anna Watson has tabled the Stop the Hub petition at State Parliament today. Picture supplied.

“I have not, unlike others, sought to inflate community expectations on what this petition could achieve from the State Parliament.

“I remain of the view that the hub project will not be stopped by the State Government or the State Parliament.

“I note that my Parliamentary colleague, Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward MP, has now indicated the same thing in his latest public comments including to the Lake Times on July 28, ‘At no stage have I said this petition will stop the hub; I have been quite clear about that...but the decision [for] the city hub rests with Shellharbour councillors’.”